His Bright Side, Her Silver Lining
by Bound for Insanity
Summary: Naruto has always looked on the bright side of things, always optimistic and cheerful. One day, he's going to teach someone else to do the same. Light romance and fluff. NarutoxHanabi. Two-shot! Second chapter has been rewritten! New title.
1. Bright Side

Well, I've finally released a piece of writing. Complete, to boot! After all of my years at this site, this is my third piece of writing I've posted here, the other two being deleted for several reasons. Well, anyways, just enjoy the show and all that. Oh, and Naruto will do the disclaimer.

Naruto: Sheesh, even if this guy still owned me, he'd STILL be poor. So, in other words, he doesn't own me and the show/manga.

Ouch, that hurt. Oh, and a warning. You could say that Naruto is OOC is this one-shot, but please, try to ignore that.

Naruto: And whose fault is that?

Well, it's not mine, that's for sure. It should be YOURS! I mean, I'm not the one who plays Naruto, after all.

Naruto: ... Just get on with it.

Oh, alright... Oh, and this piece of writing, HASN'T been beta'd.

* * *

Naruto took a good look at the river below him, as he rested on a rather large branch that overlooked the flowing water underneath. His body remained relaxed, as it had been for the past hour or so. This place was the only spot that could make him relax this much; off-guard and slack. He opened an eye to survey his surroundings, as the rhythmic sound of the river filled the area. Naruto took a quick glance at the Sun above. An aloof smile on his face, he stretched, and was just about to return to the village to attend a meeting with the Hokage, had it not been for the faint sound of sniffling.

Naruto's ears seemed to perk up at the sound. Curious, the blond ninja jumped downed from the branch and began looking for the source of the sound. '_It doesn't sound like it's very far..._' he thought to himself. Slowly, Naruto weaved through the trees.

Upon reaching a clearing that was not very far from his spot at the river, he found the source of the sound.

It was a little girl, looking to be 5 years younger than him. She was curled up against a tree, sniffling, with her head resting in her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs. It seemed that she was unaware of Naruto's presence at the moment.

Slowly, Naruto walked up the girl, stopping right in front of her. Crouching down, Naruto tapped her on the shoulder.

Startled, the girl jumped up. Her hand instictively moved to where a kunai pouch would be, Naruto noticed, but there was no kunai pouch. '_A ninja? Well, she isn't being a very good one. Is she a new genin? Or is she an academy student?._' He wondered. The girl, aware of her predicament, moved into the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) stance. It was at this moment that Naruto noticed the girl's white eyes. This girl was a Hyuuga. '_A member of the main house, eh?_' He mentally noted, as he noticed the lack of the Branch house's signature cursed seal.

"W-who are you?" She asked, trying to steel her voice, but failing quite miserably.

Smiling, he silently pointed to his Konoha hitai-ate (Forehead Protector).

The girl visibly relaxed and lowered her guard.

Before the girl could even utter a word, Naruto asked, "Why were you crying?" This question caught the Hyuuga off-guard. Regaining her composure, she glared at him. "What right do you have, butting into my business?"

Naruto simply smiled, "Why were you crying?" He asked again, ignoring the girl's question. The girl scowled.

"You have no right to ask me that. Leave me alone." She continued to glare a hole into the blue-eyed ninja's head.

"Why were you crying?" Naruto repeated, again ignoring the Hyuuga's reply.

"Leave me alone!" She all but shouted, quite annoyed at the blond ninja.

"Come on, tell me why were you crying." The smile continued to remain pasted on the blond's face.

"Who are you, anyways?!" Naruto's face turned into an amused look.

"Why, thank you for asking! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha's future Hokage, at your service!" Naruto grinned.

"Uzuma--Hey, weren't you the one who defeated Neji in the Chuunin exams, three years ago?" She asked, curious.

Naruto's grin grew wider, if that were possible, "Yeah!" The girl shook her head, as if to ward off the enthusiasm that practically dripped from his voice.

"Why are you here?" She asked. "Well I wa--Hey! You're trying to change the subject! Why were you crying?" He asked again, as he realized the cunning Hyuuga's intentions.

The Hyuuga scowled once again, "Why you... you're not going to leave me alone, are you?" It was more of a statement, than a question. "Nope!" Replied the exuberant blond.

Sighing, the Hyuuga girl sat down by the tree once again, "Why do you want to know so much?" She asked.

Naruto's grin slowly turned into a more caring, comforting smile, "Because I hate seeing people sad." Slowly, Naruto stood up and stretched. "So, are you going to tell me now?"

Sighing, the white-eyed girl nodded, "Fine." Naruto grinned triumphantly, and sat down beside the young Hyuuga. "'Kay, tell me then."

"Well, you see... my father... he isn't the nicest person to be around." Naruto nodded, knowing all to well what cruelty felt like. "He won't tolerate failure, he doesn't care if we're hurt, or even we can't stand up anymore! He'll just tell you to get up again." The 15-year-old looked up, through the branches and leaves and into the sky, deep in thought. "And well, my older sister, she isn't the strongest person around. She's weak, shy and overall, just... well, pitiful."

"That isn't very nice to say, you know." Interrupted Naruto. The female Hyuuga glared fiercely at him, "It's true!" Naruto furrowed his brows, "People can grow stronger, you know. People change. As long as they have the resolve, they can do anything." The Hyuuga stared at the blond, with something akin to surprise and confusion.

"What I'm trying to say is, in a nutshell, don't judge a book by it's cover. It's the inside that counts, not the outside." Philosophically answered the blond. This behavior was highly unusual for him.

Blinking, the Hyuuga's expression turned into a scowl moments later, "Do you want me to tell you or not?" There was a nod from Naruto. "Then don't interrupt me, idiot!"

Giving an aggravated sigh, she continued. "Well, anyways, what I'm trying to say is, my father doesn't treat my sister very well... nor me, either..." She whispered the last part, leaving it barely audible. But Naruto managed to catch it.

"And you don't like it." Finished Naruto. She nodded, "Yes... I... I hate my father." Silence filled the air as both of them pondered thoughts unknown to the other.

"Have you ever..." Started Naruto, but he stopped, considering the girl's feelings. She raised an eyebrow. "Have I ever... what?" She asked, somewhat intrigued.

Sighing, Naruto continued, "Have you ever considered what your father might really think? That he might really care for you?" He asked, but it was a rhetorical question, the Hyuuga knew. "I... I wouldn't really know. I've never had a father. I'm an orphan." The blond paused for a moment, "But if I know one thing, it's that some people... some people have a hard way of showing how they feel. Showing that they care." He closed his eyes in thought, before opening them again and continuing.

"So maybe... you shouldn't think so badly of your father." He finished, he himself feeling touchy about it. He could personally relate to this. The memories of his best friend flashed in his mind.

Silence ensued, as the female beside him closed her eyes and buried her head between her legs. The sound of crying filled the air, as the elegant Hyuuga broke down sobbing.

And as someone who couldn't stand neither the sight nor sound of crying, Naruto slowly slid his arms around the sobbing girl, comforting her, whispering soothing words.

Moments passed by in what seemed to be an eternity, and the sound of crying slowly ended. Naruto slowly stood up, taking a glance at the Sun, as he'd done before. "It's getting late. You'd better get home." He turned to the girl.

Again, silence passed, "Why... How... can you be so... so... nice? So... optimistic?" She asked. A bright-eyed Naruto turned to her, "Simple! I just like looking at the bright side of things." He gave her a bright smile.

"The... bright side of things... bright side..." she whispered to herself, "Yeah! You know, like how 'the cup is half-full' or 'the silver lining', that kind of stuff!"

"I see..." She muttered as she slowly stood up, "I guess I should be heading home, then." Before she could even take a single step, Naruto stopped her. "Hey, I didn't get your name yet! You can't leave until you tell me your name!" The Hyuuga rolled her eyes, "Hyuuga Hanabi. My name is Hyuuga Hanabi." She started to walk off once again, only to be stopped by Naruto once again. "Hey! You didn't thank me yet!"

Hanabi raised an eyebrow, "A Hyuuga is above thanking common shinobi." She answered. However, before Naruto could yell and rant on about "rude Hyuugas", a pair of arms slid around his waist.

"But I guess I could make an exception." She whispered, resting her head against his chest, still hugging a flustered and blushing Naruto. However, he slowly hugged Hanabi back as he let himself relax in the gentle hug. They remained in that position for only several seconds, before the Hyuuga broke off the hug and ran off. "H-Hey! W-w-wait!" However, his words fell on deaf ears, as Hanabi slowly disappeared between the trees.

"Man..." He remembered the hug and blushed a light hue of red. Shaking it off, he jumped onto the trees and headed for the village of Konoha. He was late for a meeting, after all. '_Man, Tsunade-baa-chan is going to kill me..._' He thought, as he jumped from branch to branch.

'_Well, look on the bright side, Naruto. You made a new friend._'

* * *

Hate it? Love it? Don't care at all? Just review please!

Naruto: Heh, not like they'd review this piece of cr--HEY! What are you doing with that?

-Is holding a giant sword- Say another word, and you become a Naruto-kabob.

Naruto: Aheheheh... Do as this guy says! Read and review!

Hanabi: Or I'll kill you all.

Eh? Hanabi? When did you get here? Oh well, it doesn't matter. I just have one more thing to say. **GO READ lackofname's OCARINA OF KONOHA!** It's awesome and you should read it. Go and read it now. Now, I say! It is the epitome of awesome, and will make you laugh. A lot. Well, I know I did.

Hanabi: -sigh- Sometimes, I wonder why I'm with these idiots...


	2. Silver Lining

Hey again. As you may or may not have known, I was quite unsatisfied with this chapter. I felt it was just... too low quality. Too rushed. And since I decided to stop being such a lazy ass for a change (and I hope this change remains permanent), I felt the need to rewrite this chapter, for starters.

Naruto: As per protocol, this story belongs to him, but any and all characters are not.

Hanabi: I didn't know you knew the word protocol.

Naruto: ... Sh-shut up! I know lots of wor--

Right, right. Let's get this over with, eh? A warning for any readers out there, though. This story has yet to be beta'd, but I've tried my best to wrinkle out the mistakes and make it perfect for your reading enjoyment.

* * *

The sun burned bright within the sky, and the winds blew gently throughout the village. The soft sound of the villagers going about their business brought life to Konoha.

Hanabi slowly trudged through the village streets, the ninja academy as her destination. She stopped for a brief moment, shielding her eyes from the sun. Were anyone to pay attention to the young Hyuuga, they would have noticed a small smile on her face.

It had been two weeks since her meeting with Uzumaki Naruto in the forest. It had been slightly difficult at first, but Hanabi persevered, and slowly, her outlook on life had begun to change. She had taken Naruto's words to heart: to look on the bright side of things. Of course, this hadn't gone unnoticed, to both her peers and fellow Hyuuga. She'd been stared at quite often nowadays, and her peers often commented on how weird she had been lately.

Normally, this would bother most other people. But Hanabi, Naruto's wise words not forgotten, shrugged them off and looked at the silver lining in the clouds. Her cups were now half-full, not half-empty.

Smartly deciding that being late to class would not be good, Hanabi began walking to class once again. She was not in a rush as most would be, however. No, she felt as though she had all the time in the world.

The soft, small smile hadn't left her face.

**:ooooo:**

When the young girl had arrived at class, she noticed she had been slightly earlier than expected. Iruka was missing, and there were seven other students within the class. Hanabi headed over to her designated seat at the back of the classroom and sat down. She glanced at the clock and saw there were about 10 minutes left until class began. Hanabi rested her head in her arms and waited.

Time passed slowly. And as time passed, the rest of the students began to enter the class. Sitting up straight, Hanabi took another glance at the clock.

'_Huh?_' It was time for class to start, yet Iruka had not arrived. Iruka was always on time. '_But some people do have their off-days... Maybe he's late._'

Hanabi took a moment to observe the class. Most of the students were tired and groggy, and some were even sleeping. A few were studying, and the rest were chatting amongst themselves. Most notably of the students chatting were Konohamaru and friends.

While Hanabi didn't know Konohamaru well, she did note how he'd changed since his grandfather's, the Third Hokage's, death. At first he'd gone into a withdrawal, refusing to speak to anyone. But slowly he'd begun to open up, mostly thanks to Udon and Moegi, and he'd returned to his old self.

Suddenly, the door slid open, and walked in Iruka, along with someone else... Hanabi's eyes widened in surprise. '_Wait, is that...?!_'

"Good morning, class!" Said Iruka. The students, excluding the surprised Hanabi, and oddly, Konohamaru and friends, returned the greeting.

"Before we begin, I'd like to introduce a previous student of mine." Iruka pointed to the person beside him. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and he'll be joining us today as the assistant teacher." So surprised was Hanabi, she had yet to regain her composure.

"Heya! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet ya'!" As Naruto was, well, Naruto, he gave a great big wave to the class, with a great big grin plastered onto his face.

And though Hanabi hadn't come out of surprise yet, Konohamaru had. He stood up and shouted, "EH?! Naruto-nii-san?! What are you doing here?!" There was a small "yeah!" from Udon and Moegi.

Naruto looked surprised. "Oh, heya, Konohamaru! Didn't know you were in this class!"

"Answer me!"

"Geez, Konohamaru, you should more attention to Iruka. I'm your assistant teacher, remember?"

Iruka scoffed, "Like you're one to talk, Naruto."

"But Iruka-sensei, your classes are so booooring..." The class laughed. Naruto was answered with a smack on the back of the head by Iruka. "Ow! You don't have to be so mean..."

"And you shouldn't be a hypocrite." Naruto gripped his head in pain. While he did so, he surveyed the classroom. Only Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi stood out. That is, until he looked at the back of the class.

"Woah, Hanabi-chan, you're in this class too?!" The entirety of the class looked surprised Naruto knew Hanabi, and turned to look at her. This was enough to knock Hanabi out of her reverie. Becoming aware that she was the target of the stares of everyone in the class, Hanabi became uneasy.

However, she shrugged that off and gave Naruto a small smile. "Hello, Naruto." Naruto grinned, happy that Hanabi still remembered him.

Konohamaru and friends looked back and forth between Naruto and Hanabi, and this time, it was Moegi who voice their, and the rest of the classes' question. "Naruto-nii-san, you know Hanabi?"

Grin unrelenting, Naruto answered, "She's my friend." Unnoticed to Naruto, Hanabi had turned a quiet hue of red.

Iruka gave a loud cough. "I hope I haven't been forgotten, because, you know, class began several minutes ago."

The majority of class groaned, some looking disdainfully at Iruka.

"Ya' know, it's been _ages_ since I've last been here. Kinda... what's the word... nostalgic! Yeah, nostalgic." Naruto commented.

"... A part of me wouldn't like to remember those days." Naruto _was_ a tough kid to handle back than. All those pranks... Iruka shuddered as some memories flashed through his mind.

"Huh? What was that, Iruka-sensei?"

"Nothing."

**:ooooo:**

'_Class didn't feel long at all. In fact, it went by pretty quickly..._' Hanabi thought to herself. Class had finished, and the students were packing up their stuff.

It occured to her during class that Hanabi hadn't actually formally thanked the blue eyed blond. She felt she had to change that.

Taking things extra slowly, Hanabi was the last one out of class. Iruka and Naruto were discussing something, but it didn't matter to her if she was going to interrupt them.

Walking up to Naruto, the 15-year old stopped his conversation with his mentor and turned to Hanabi.

"Oh, Hanabi-chan! Did you want something?" Naruto asked.

"Um, w-well..." She stuttered, her face a light shade of red, though it went unnoticed by both Naruto and Iruka, "I realized that... well, I have actually said thanks, for the other day, so... Thank you. For, well... everything."

Naruto was given no reaction time, and in but a swift moment, Hanabi had planted her lips on Naruto's cheek. Iruka gaped.

Ending her kiss on Naruto's cheek, she quickly scurried out of the class room. Though, if she had stayed behind, she would never let Naruto forget about his impression of a fish for the rest of his life.

**:ooooo:**

"Hokage-sama!" Shouted a secretary.

"Hmm?" The Hokage stopped what he was doing.

"The neighboring villages are requesting that we send ninjas to help them with a sudden bandit outbreak."

The Hokage crossed his arms in comtemplation, before sighing. "Just when I thought things were becoming peaceful..." He said to himself, "Alright. But tell me, how bad is the situation?"

The secretary nodded, and shuffled through a few papers. It didn't take much time before she found it. "Apparently, the bandits outnumber the all the villages three to one. The problem spans three villages, and the average population of each village is estimated to about 100, at least."

The Hokage gave a small whistle. "900 isn't a small number... Hmm. Call Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Might Gai and Rock Lee for me, please. Tell them they have a mission. Ranked... let's see..." The Hokage paused briefly, "I think this would classify as a Rank S, considering the numbers, but seeing as how they're bandits, I think this should qualify as a rank A mission."

The secretary nodded, before turning away and leaving the room. "Well, that was a bit sudden, but..." The Hokage turned back to what he was doing.

"It comes with the job, Naru." Said the other occupant in the room.

"How many times have I told everyone to stop calling me that? Now they've even got _you_ calling me that..." He sighed. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, damnit! I'm the Hokage!" Naruto pouted.

The other person giggled, and smiled at Naruto. "I think it's cute."

"... I'm okay with _you_ calling me that, I guess."

The other person slowly slid their arms around Naruto, hugging him close. "You know... I can scarcely believe it's been 10 years since we've met."

"Hanabi-chan... I'm really happy we met. I don't regret a moment of it."

Hanabi smiled, and welcomed the comfort of Naruto as she continued to hug him.

Every once in a while, someone would ask her, "Why did you marry Naruto, of all people?"

When they did, she would smile and answer, "Because he's my silver lining."

_**Owari**_

* * *

I like this version of the chapter much, much better. Anyways... like it? Hate it? Liked the old version better? Anything I can touch up on? Review and tell me! Also, I'm quite aware that by the time that Naruto returns from his training with Jiraiya, Konohamaru and friends have graduated. Well, in this story, they haven't yet.

Naruto: Hah! I'm Hokage! Hell yeah!

Hanabi: Settle down, Naru.

Naruto: ... Yes, ma'am.


End file.
